Cumberland Honors Outstanding Alumnus, Volunteer, Friends

Samford's Cumberland School of Law honored Birmingham attorneys Scott A. Powell and Bruce F. Rogers, North Carolina attorney James F. Morgan and law school assistant dean Mitzi S. Davis during alumni weekend activities Friday, April 4.

Morgan, a 1969 Cumberland graduate, was named the school's 2008 Distinguished Alumnus. Managing partner of the High Point, N.C., law firm of Morgan, Herring, Morgan, Green, Rosenblatt & Gill, LLP, and a former member of the state House of Representatives, Morgan was founding chair of the High Point Community Foundation. He is chair of the Piedmont Triad partnership task force on development and land use issue, and recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association's 2006 public service award.

Powell, a 1978 graduate and partner in the Birmingham firm of Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton LLP, was named Volunteer of the Year. He was cited for his service as chair of the Cumberland Advisory Board and his leadership to create the newly-dedicated Martha F. and Albert P. Brewer Plaza at Samford. He has served on the law school's strategic planning committee and as chair of the annual fund. He is a former president of the International Association of Barristers and the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association.

Rogers, a partner in the Birmingham law firm of Bainbridge, Mims, Rogers & Smith, LLP, was named Friend of the Law School. He was cited for his service in Cumberland's interview process and other programs, such as annual visits by the Alabama Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to the Samford campus for oral arguments. A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, he is a former president of the Birmingham Bar Association.

Davis, who retires as assistant dean for admissions and alumni in May, was named Outstanding Friend of the Law School. She joined the Cumberland staff in 1988 as director of admissions, and added alumni responsibilities in 1998.

Cumberland dean John Carroll presented the awards at the annual alumni association banquet Friday at Ross Bridge resort. Cumberland has some 6,500 alumni in all 50 states and several foreign nations.